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Photo: William Iven/Unsplash

Apple’s agenda should scare you

Last week, Apple held their 2016 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). Like always, it was a smorgasbord of updates to operating systems and apps, developer fandom, and hooplah over Siri’s special powers (now she’ll work across devices!).

Cue the applause.

However, I had this weird problem when I went to stream the keynote. You see, Google Chrome was blocked from being able to watch the event. The website told me I needed to be in the Safari browser on a Mac or iOS device (i.e., iPhone or iPad).

I thought nothing of it at the time; except, “Well, this is inconvenient.” But really, why should I care? I simply switched to Safari and then streamed every remaining second of it. My mind spit out whatever I was doing beforehand in favor of all things Apple. I was jacked in.

But in that moment — that blip of inconvenience due to Apple’s desire to withhold information from any Android or PC user, something distasteful festered. My head kept picking at it like a stubborn cuticle. It felt uncomfortable to be forced toswitch. Why should I need to? There’s something arrogant about it. Apple was a pioneer in technology; surely, they knew how to present the keynote address across multiple browsers, right? The intentionality felt hostile — a confrontation to openness in the Internet Age.

The cost of being a user

Manypeople have talked about Apple as a “walled garden.” What they’re implying is that the company is protective of their devices, operating system functions, and who can play in the iOS world. For developers and consumers, the effects have pros and cons. Apple’s devices are more secure, but they’re also more expensive.

You’ve got to pay up to belong, but membership has its… privileges. The devices are beautiful and the operating system is solid. But paying up – in more ways than one — is quickly becoming Apple’s specialty. For starters, their devices have some of the largest margins in the industry. As most of the hardware industry has dwindled, Apple’s pushed on to become one of the largest companies in the world.

Now, their financial acumen goes beyond the machines they manufacture. About two years ago, the company made moves into the financial industry with Apple Pay. It used to be limited to restaurants, groceries, gas stations, and other retailers that accept plastic credit cards. Those retailers employed Near-Field Communication (NFC) devices that could then accept iPhones and Watches via Apple Pay. Users could rid their wallet of the extra plastic in the process. How easy!

You’ll pay for updates to Apple Pay

This year’s WWDC contained a little nod to Apple Pay in the form of a button that could be placed on websites that accept credit transactions. They dubbed it, “Apple Pay on the Web.” This new button would take the place of filling out forms and spending countless hours of your life punching in 16-digit numbers, expiration dates, CVV codes, full names, addresses, phone numbers, your blood type, your cousin’s maiden name, and your favorite fruit.

Apple’s making a value proposition. Essentially, they’re saying, “We know you value your time. That’s why we’ve created an ingenious solution that’ll solve the hassle and time it takes to shop online.”

Behind this “solution” is a masterclass in consumption. First, Apple Pay will only work with Macs; at least, to start. You’ll need a Mac running Safari. As always, Apple’s computers have a large profit margin built in. That means you’re paying a hefty amount over comparable systems just to pay for things online (are we noticing a consumption loop here?).

Second, Apple is pairing Apple Pay on the Web with iPhones. That phone is going to cost you, as well. Heck, a new iPhone costs about $700 off contract. The phone will be used to “confirm” transactions — press your thumb (or any other digit of your choosing) to your TouchID sensor. Et voila! You’ve purchased… something.

Third, all this “innovation” is to help you consume, to pay more, to think less, to spend more time mashing your thumb against a sensor. It’s made for businesses more than consumers. And while it’s awesome to have autofill forms, instant transactions, and secure payments, shouldn’t we weigh the potential costs of this so-called progress?

Reduced friction = increased spend

The convenience of online retailers contains a risk for some spenders: reduced friction. Friction occurs when you rub your hands together — feel that heat? Friction is the reason I’m burning so much gas in my car, too. Just read the company’s description about Apple Pay:

Customers love the simplicity of Apple Pay, and you’ll love the increased conversion rates and new user adoption that come with it.

Apple Pay for the Web will reduce time spent critically making important decisions that directly affect your wallet. Will you spend or save today? Even more, the method continues to encourage the Apple-everything mindset in the face of lofty price points. They’ve created a system to reduce friction for a small subset of the population — those that can pay up to have at least two Apple-branded products at all times.

Today, I see a modality that shouldn’t be encouraged. For Apple, by Apple. They’re creating a world where nobody else can play; unless, you’re an Apple owner, then you’ll pay.

See, Apple has long been a terrible cloud provider. Their iCloud service has frequently suffered security leaks, downtime, and inexplicable bugginess. The beleaguered service hasn’t ever gained traction. Unfortunately, without the cloud, Apple’s future revenue might eventually suffer.

The release of private, celebrity photos came at a terrible time — just two weeks before the new iPhone 6 and Apple Watch keynote by Tim Cook. Apple’s taciturn answer: this is not the fault of iCloud servers or our security. Well, if it was that simple, we could pack our bags and move on from this perverted mess. And as a shareholder, I’d love to!

Reality is far murkier here. As it turns out, there were weaknesses in Apple’s iCloud security, which allowed hackers to penetrate into the “Find My iPhone” portion of the website, and repeatedly guess passwords without any restrictions. Through a brute force application (guess-and-checks tons of passwords over and over again until it gets a winner), the accounts were compromised, illegally downloaded, and provided access to a wealth of explicit photos. Likewise, this determined hacker and/or collective aimed for simple security questions, which were easily guessable for public icons like Jennifer Lawrence. This ultimately allowed for a massive leak of data. While Apple claimed innocence, they quickly rectified security gaps and patched problem areas. The hack was rendered inert; albeit, the damage was already done.

As media consumers, we seem to gravitate towards one scandal or story, and then quickly drift to the next — barely remembering what was important in the first place. This quick consumption of news seems to reduce the real importance of important stories. Frankly, it’s yet another consequence of the 24-hour news cycle — it’s literally endless. Apple is relying on us to rapidly forget the iCloud hacks of 2014.

It was a recipe for disaster, but now Apple is manipulating the message for public gain and increased profit. The genius is mind-bending, and it starts with the distinction between privacy and security. By definition, privacy is the right to be left alone. Simple as that. If you’d like to search for strange Christmas ornaments privately, the assumption is that you’re not tracked, nor should you be concerned about others chiming in on that search. Security, on the other hand, is about being free from danger or threat. From the mall cop to the password on your email account, security attempts to protect us from external threats.Privacy and security can be overlapping concepts, where security is necessary for privacy. Without security, privacy quickly disappears.

The point is, privacy and security are different, and Apple is purposively confusing the two. By hacking the iCloud accounts of various celebrities, this mercenary crew showed wicked flaws in Apple’s “secure” platform.

The evil brillance at Apple has been a prolonged offensive on Google’s data-mining business. Tim Cook has repeatedly spoken about the privacy and security embedded in Apple’s products, along with their commitment to respecting individuals’ rights. Each time Cook has mentioned their push for privacy, it’s come with a dig against Google. In the preceding video, Cook lambastes competitors for tracking users, while emphasizing Apple’s age-old push to “try not to collect data.”

Even in the recent keynote address, Apple executives emphasized the privacy features every step of the way. With the recent introduction of payments via Apple Pay (hold an iPhone in front of a receiver to pay), the company said they wouldn’t monitor transactions — that they were between you, the merchant, and credit card company. If you didn’t know better, you might assume that Apple is the most private company in the world.

Apple is clearly trying to quickly evade and rebrand themselves as the last privacy conscious mega-cap company in the country. And if people don’t pay attention, it just might work. If you are a consumer and you hear about individual hackers, corporate espionage, and governmental spies, you’ll want the most private hardware system you can find. Unfortunately, it’ll cost you and arm and a leg (around $1000 for the Macbook Air), and may not even be more secure than other platforms.

Take the Google Chromebook, for instance. This computer costs about $200 to $300 depending on the model you choose. The computer automatically updates to the latest operating system, protects you from viruses and malware, has a verified secure boot (which prevents internal changes from the operating system by outside hackers), and lasts about 10-12 hours on a single charge. These are considered one of the most secure systems on the market today. Chromebooks are perfect for most everything, and they’re a real threat to Apple’s business model. To save all that money, you sacrifice a bit of privacy to Google’s servers, but none of the security.

That’s the problem: Google and their Chromebook line is a threat. Apple has a moment to quickly switch the media spin cycle to full blast, argue that they’re a privacy-focused company, and get you to pay about $800 more on a laptop than necessary.

We live in a world where privacy and security are threatened in a multitude of ways — not least of which by capitalistic disinformation. From private hackers to the NSA, security is being attacked. And as security goes, so does privacy. But privacy should be a right; in fact, it’s a part of the Fourth Amendment. Privacy is a right afforded to us by our constitution, and one that we must continue to defend. We should never need to pay for privacy, as Apple would have us believe.